Tamworth Regional Council pipes up over 'very real' cost of not building new Dungowan Dam

On Tuesday night, Tamworth Regional Council set in stone its ownership preferences if the new billion-dollar asset is built.

The council will write to NSW Minister for Lands and Water, Kevin Anderson, requesting the dam's ownership be transferred to Water NSW, and that the council take over ownership of the new Dungowan Pipeline, at no cost.

The motion sparked debate over whether the council should be preparing for the dam to not go ahead, and what that would mean for the community.

Cr Bede Burke told the meeting if the dam isn't built, which is now looking "highly likely," the cost of upgrades to the old dam to meet safety standards will be considerable.

"The cost of no build to the Tamworth people is a very real and large amount," he said.

"I heard the community say that the cost of water from the new Dungowan Dam would be significantly more, and most likely unaffordable.

"Clearly, this motion does not say that. It says that we are not going to own the dam and that the ownership of the pipeline be transferred to council at nothing more than nil."

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Cr Mark Rodda said while the council waits for a decision on the dam's future from the new Labor government, they should start a discussion with the state government about the cost of safety upgrades should it not proceed.

"I wonder also whether we need to enlarge the conversation to the alternative government, seeing as we're a little less than nine months away from a state election," he said.

"Just to highlight them the importance of water infrastructure to our region, and the importance of a reverse osmosis water purification which is vital to us as well."

Mayor Russell Webb told the Leader the ownership requests were about making the best decision for the community, but if the dam doesn't go ahead, it will be the community that foots the bill.

"In terms of the pipeline... we've got expertise as a council in operating these things, we've got a team of people that work for us that look after the connections and issues such as leaks," he said.

"But if the dam doesn't go ahead, the residents of our community will find themselves having to foot the bill of a new pipeline, and fixing up the old dam so it meets safety standards."

Tamworth Ratepayers Association's David McKinnon questioned why the council needed to rush decisions on the new Dungowan Dam, when they don't even know if it's going ahead.

"The dam is a short-term fix," he told the meeting.

"We doubled Chaffey, it was a short-term fix, it lasted two years. We decided we'll build another one, a little dam this time, and it's not going to be a surprise when if it doesn't rain, it's going to be empty.

"The only long-term answer for water security in Tamworth is to have a recycling process in place."

Any decision on ownership will need to be ticked off by the NSW Government.

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